Baseboard warm air distributor



April 24, 1956 I W. H. SIMPSON BASEBOARD WARM AIR DISTRIBUTOR Filed Oct. 51, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1.

QQQQQ iii 2/ I I I INVENTOR WILLIAM H, SIMPSON.

ATTORNEYS.

April 24, 1956 w H, slMPSON 2,742,845

BASEBOARD WARM AIR DISTRIBUTOR Filed OCT 31, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR WILLIAM H. SIMPSON,

F'IG.3.

FIG 5 FIG. 2.

ATTORNEYS FIG. 4.

BY WZG'W/m *XO United States Patent tribu'tor.v More particularly, the inventionrhas reference to a distributor of the character stated which can ".be of sectional construction, and capable of ready installation either in .new buildings or in buildings previously erected.

It is proposed, in accordance with .the present invention to provide a baseboard warm air distributor which will be so formed as to .be .readilyusable either for perimeter heating, or for placement under windows of .varying lengths, the distributor constituting the present invention being formed for this purposein sections, which can be readily connected in any desired number or sections in any desired arrangement, ,to accomplish the desired heating installation;

Another important object is ,to provide a baseboard warm air distributor which will be so formed as to ,be usable with forced air heating systems of all types.

Still another object is to .provide a baseboard warm air distributorwhi'ch will have incorporated therein a distributing grid slide, which slide will be so formed as to stalled the warm air distributor constituting the resent invention, said building having an "interior w'a-ll 2 n'ii ayfiobr m a to, sa me. The device constituting the present invention has been designated b'y'the' reference numeral '16, aadasadaprea to receive warm air flowing thereto 'froina duct '18?" The duct 18 isadapted'to comprise part of'a convenf tional forced air heating systenL' th'e' dev ice'fconstituting make it possible ,to restrict the air flow to insure even 1 distribution. 7

Yet another object is to ,provide a baseboard warm air distributor assembly which will be ,so designed as to permit ducts of various sizes tobe stubbed ,eitherinto the back of the distributor, or through the bottom, ,thus to permit use of the'distributor in any of various buildings, including buildings which, by reason of their age, have side walls ,thatare difi'icult to open.

A further object of importance is .to provide a warm air distributor which will make it possibleto obtain ,results such as those produced by a steam pipe conyector, th ributor b ing so des ned in h fiO QQQfiQ Jfl to ,permit .fresh air to beintroduced into the ,warm air distributor, if desired. 7

h o r i ha bee Prop sed o Pro id wa m i distributors of the baseboard ,type, but to my knowledg none of these ,has proved commercially feasible, and I believe this may bedue to the fact that those distributors of which ,I av -know ed ha be so d s gn d- 49 make it difficult, if notimpossibl toadjust pressure and air flow within the distributor in'a ma ner effective to obtain anequalizeddistributionthroughoutlthe length of the assembly. This characteristic of the instant invention,

it may be noted, facilitates the heating the walls and floor area, while at the same time permitting cold air fromthe floor .to bemixed with hotair risingtat the walls of a room.

Other objects will appear from the following descriptiQn i h v l i nd 'thereto an rqn f q fla i d d w n s in vw ie l t efe ens .s r sw'r desi n like parts ,throughout the several views, and wherein:

i u s? ira mema t 'r rs s tir Yicwiht as p ti o a j uild n n wh s a .Wa m lai stri to orm d i vacc dan .ait t h sa casm nt io is installed;

Figure 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view through the warm, air distributor; constitutingdhepresent; invention;

Figure 3 is afragmentary -fr ont elevational. view;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on line the present invention being readily connctibletdthe outlet endof the duct," either as a new installa'tiori, or a conversion unit to be substituted for ofitIe'dfiieans pre viou'sl'y associated with the duct'18' in an older Home."

' The warm air distributor constituting thepre'seiif ven can be provided, having 'right angled"-bends"therein; as

well as other sections of different shapes,'selectedaecordf ing tothe particular installation to be'rna'de."

In any'event,fconsidering the formation of the outer casing, said outer casing is provided, in the illustrated example of the invention, with a vertically'dispo'sed back wall 20. adapted to be mounted against the interior wall 12' oflthe'building 10. At'its upper edge, the' back wall 20 is formed'with a forwardly directed "flange .22. At its lower edge, the .back wall 20 is integralwith the rear edge of the bottom wall of thefoutercasin g, said bottom Wall 18' being integrally connected, at its front edge, with thebottorn' edge of a vertically disposed front wall 24. Front wall 24 merges, atits'uppe'redge, intoa' rearwardly and upwardly inclined top wall 16; said {top wall 26 merging into a horizontal rear edge portion "28 overlying and secured in any suitable manner to thfiarige 22- I V I Y" v- "It will be seen from the above that the outer casing can be madefroma single sheeto-f metal material, beftit to'shapelto impart to the' outer casing the desired cross sectional appearance.

In .the lower edge portion of the .front wall 24 of the outer casing, I form a longitudinal series of floor outlet openings 30, said openings .being so arranged as to permit air to be dischargedoutwafdlytherethrough along the floor 14, in ,the manner shown in'FigurjeiSf In the top wall 26, I provide, in the illustrated examplefof the inven two ra rpa al o s o w l outle evenha 3 a o en ng 3. bsi a a te io hedissharse of air therethrough upwardly-air ng the wall 1; (see Fi u 5')- The inner liner or casing includes aninneriront SA'eXtending' vertically froInTt'Iiebottom r e a r t tl' w siyri h' i f aiwa .U longitudinal flange 36, "whichfiange ean"be seure I any suitable manner to the bottom wall 18'. The inner frontwall 34 of the inner liner isspaced r'ear wardly 'frbm and i's'in closely"spaced-relation to matron warren ofth'e o'uter'casing, therebytodefine'a front chamber 35 extending the-full length of the assembly. -Tlie' fro"nt chamber 35, when considered-from .the standpoint of its heighh'extendsiully vfrom the bottom edge of the assembly to an innerton wall afi formingfthe tjop oftheinner i er ori asi gisa f n ham e 'ic m un atingia the p of the nertl ne r a i awith t chamber h a b f- 1 1 fin d t i a e 38 9 h l pns t is a i h a l 6 o ihl pvt r s as sa lis h m e sm un sa n h oa a t t len th with the front chamber 35. i V V extended flange 40 that can, be secured in any suitable manner to the back wall of the outer casing. It will be seen that by 1'68S0l1l0f arrangement, the back wall 20 of the'outer-casing, and the bottom wall 18' thereof, are common to both the outer casing and the inner liner, thus to reduce substantially the 'cost of materials used in forming the warm air distributor."

In the grid 38 I form a longitudinal series of openings 42, through which air can flow from the interior of the inner liner to the'top chamber 37.

A grid slide 44 is embodied in the invention, said grid slide being coextensive in width with the grid 38, and being, additionally, coextensive in length with said grid. The grid slide 44 is formed along its back edge with an upwardly extended flange 46 having slidable contact with the back wall 20 of the outer casing, the front edge of the grid slide 44-being slidably engaged under an angular guide flange 48 secured to the front wall 34 of the'inner liners In the grid slide 44, I form a longitudinal series of openings 50, and as will be noted from Figure 4, the openings 50 of the grid slide can be brought into or out of register with the grid openings 42, to vary the size ofgthe outlet openings of the inner liner, or close the outlet openings of the inner liner completely. In this way the pressure or flow of air through the duct 18 and inner liner is regulated as desired, the regulated fiow being such as to provide for an even distribution of air flow through the length of the assembly.

a It is desirable, of course, to provide an operating means whereby the grid slide 44 can be adjusted to selected positions, relative to its associated grid 38. To this end, there is illustrated an upstanding handle 52, secured fixedly at its lower end to the grid slide 44, and projecting upwardly through a longitudinal slot 54 formed in the inclined top wall 26 of the outer casing. The projecting end of the handle 52 can be provided with a knob or button, adapted to be grasped by a user for the purpose of adjusting the grid slide 44 longitudinally of the grid 38, to selected positions.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the warm air distributor is connected in communication with the outlet end of a conventional forced air duct 18, said duct discharging air into the inner liner through opening 21. The air forced into the inner liner will be fed throughout the length of the inner liner, and will pass upwardly through the openings 42, 50, into the top chamber 37.

The air forced into the top chamber 37 will move out of the wall openings 32 in the direction of the arrows shown in Figure 5, passing upwardly along the wallsto heatthe same.

At the same time, air will be forced into the front chamber 35, passing out of the floor outlet openings 30, and spreading out across the floor 14. l

, By reason of this arrangement, cold air from the floor will be caused to rise along the walls, as shown by the arrow in Figure 5, said cold air being, at the same time, replaced by warm air discharged through the openings 30.. i

Theconstruction is such as to permit the flow of "air through the openings 32, to be regulated according to the position chosen for the grid slide 44. In certain positions of the grid slide, the proportion of air delivered through the openings. will bechanged relative to the proportion delivered through the floor outlet openings 30, thus to permit a wide range of adjustment that will be effective to make for even distribution of air flow throughout the length of the assembly. I

It is also believed to be of importance to note that in some instances, as for example when the device is being installed in an older home, it may not be practical to 'municatingbetween the-inner liner andthe duct 18 would be formed in the bottom wall of the outer casing.

Among other important, characteristics of the inven' tion, it is believed that note should be made of the arrangement wherein the entire assembly, comprising both the inner liner and outer casing, can be formed of a minimum amount of material, considering the benefits to be obtained from the use thereof, said material comprising sheet metal readily fabricated to the desired shape.

Additionally, the construction is such as to permit the installation to be varied according to the particular shape or size or room in which the assembly is to be mounted, the warm air distributor being of sectional formation as previously noted herein, with the sections being readily connectible to one another and being assembled to provide for either perimeter heating or spaced, individual heating outlets. When the sections are assembled to provide spaced; individual heating outlets located, for example," under windows, the baseboard can be used as a continuation of a conventional baseboard, and can have any desired outer configuration to harmonize with the conventional baseboard used in the room.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of 'operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is: I V

In a baseboard forced warm air distributor, a hollow outer casing including parallel front and rear walls, a bottom wall extending between the front and rear walls, and an inclined top Wall extending from the top of said front Wall to the top of said rear wall, said front wall having a series of floor air outlet openings therethrough adjacent said bottom wall, said top wall being provided with a series of air outlet openings therethrough; an inner front wall carried by said bottom wall in spaced relation to said front wall to define therebetween a front chamber into which air may be forced, an inner top wall of grid-like formation carried by said inner front wall at the top thereof and extending to said rear wall to define along with said inner top wall, rear wall and bottom wall an inner liner extending longitudinally of said outer casing, said inner top wall being spaced from said outer casing to define in the space therebetween a top chamber in communication with said front chamber throughout the length of the outer casing, means for forcing warm air into said inner liner so that the warm air can pass through said inner top wall "into said top and front chambersto be distributed through said outlet openings in the front and top wall and into a room; a grid slidably mounted on the inner top wall, said grid having a longitudinal series of openings for regulating the flow of air from the inner casing to the top chamber, and operating means associated 'with the grid slide and projecting through the top wall of the outer casing for adjusting the grid slide to selected positions relative to the inner top wall of the inner liner.

References Cited in the file of this patent ,UNITED STATES PATENTS 766,957 Lloyd Aug. 9, 1904 2,395,233 Richardson Feb. 19, 1946 2,442,963 Sewell et al. June 8, 1948 2,483,704 Leigh f Oct. 4, 1949 2,639,655 Whitehead May 26, 1953 

